This invention relates generally to a top hung door assembly for a cabinet and particularly to an assembly which can be used for glass fronted display cabinets for beverages, food products and the like.
In the prior art and, for example, in a patent owned by the assignee of the present application, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,106 Self-Closing Cabinet Doors is known. This particular patent, utilizes an offset counterweight system having a double bent guide tube which directs the sash-line through two 90° turns and is essentially a bottom supported, guided door.
As pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,106 the use of pulleys had not proved successful because the sash-line tends to slip off the pulleys, which was a problem solved by the use of a double bent guide tube. On the other hand, the guide tube does not have the relatively frictionless free motion of a pulley system such as a ball bearing pulley system.
The prior art discloses several examples of top hung doors. However, there are none known which have the combination of features that the present top hung system reveals. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0101540A1 discloses a top hung elevationally adjustable wheel system suitable for a shower door. However, this system does not reveal a door suitable for a merchandiser and having the combination of features that this system has such as a metal stiffening member, or an auxiliary track member or wheel mounting brackets.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the known prior art systems.